Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

bits

 - 11 dictionary results
Bidz.com - Live Auctions
Brand Name Jewelry Auctions - Live Lalique, Corum, Versace, Di Modolo
www.Bidz.com
Is Bits Going to Soar
Is Bits a hot stock to own read our free report
www.thepennystockpicks.com
Bits
Brand-Name Drill Bit Sets, Wide Variety of Types & Sizes. Shop Now
NorthernTool.com/DrillBits

bit

1  [bit] noun, verb, bit⋅ted, bit⋅ting.
Use bits in a Sentence
–noun
1. Machinery.
a. a removable drilling or boring tool for use in a brace, drill press, or the like.
b. a removable boring head used on certain kinds of drills, as a rock drill.
c. a device for drilling oil wells or the like, consisting of a horizontally rotating blade or an assembly of rotating toothed wheels.
2. the mouthpiece of a bridle, having fittings at each end to which the reins are fastened.
3. anything that curbs or restrains.
4. the blade or iron of a carpenter's plane.
5. the cutting part of an ax or hatchet.
6. the wide portion at the end of an ordinary key that moves the bolt.
–verb (used with object)
7. to put a bit in the mouth of (a horse).
8. to curb or restrain with, or as with, a bit.
9. to grind a bit on (a key).
—Idiom
10. take the bit in or between one's teeth, to cast off control; willfully go one's own way: He took the bit in his teeth and acted against his parents' wishes.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME bite, OE: action of biting; c. G Biss, ON bit. See bite

Related forms:
bitless, adjective
Bidz.com - Live Auctions
Brand Name Jewelry Auctions - Live Lalique, Corum, Versace, Di Modolo
www.Bidz.com
Is Bits Going to Soar
Is Bits a hot stock to own read our free report
www.thepennystockpicks.com

bit

2  [bit]
–noun
1. a small piece or quantity of anything: a bit of string.
2. a short time: Wait a bit.
3. Informal. an amount equivalent to 12 1/2 U.S. cents (used only in even multiples): two bits; six bits.
4. an act, performance, or routine: She's doing the Camille bit, pretending to be near collapse.
5. a stereotypic or habitual set of behaviors, attitudes, or styles associated with an individual, role, situation, etc.: the whole Wall Street bit.
6. Also called bit part. a very small role, as in a play or motion picture, containing few or no lines. Compare walk-on (def. 1).
7. any small coin: a threepenny bit.
8. a Spanish or Mexican silver real worth 12 1/2 cents, formerly current in parts of the U.S.
—Idioms
9. a bit, rather or somewhat; a little: a bit sleepy.
10. a bit much, somewhat overdone or beyond tolerability.
11. bit by bit, by degrees; gradually: Having saved money bit by bit, they now had enough to buy the land.
12. do one's bit, to contribute one's share to an effort: They all did their bit during the war.
13. every bit, quite; just: every bit as good.
14. quite a bit, a fairly large amount: There's quite a bit of snow on the ground.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME bite, OE bita bit, morsel; c. G Bissen, ON biti. See bite

Synonyms:
1. particle, speck, grain, mite; whit, iota, jot; scrap, fragment.

bit

3  [bit]
–noun Computers.
1. Also called binary digit. a single, basic unit of information, used in connection with computers and information theory.
2. baud.
Origin:
1945–50; b(inary) + (dig)it

bit

4  [bit]
–verb
pt. and a pp. of bite.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To bits
bit 1   (bĭt)   
n.  

  1. A small portion, degree, or amount: a bit of lint; a bit of luck.

  2. A brief amount of time; a moment: Wait a bit.

    1. A short scene or episode in a theatrical performance.

    2. A bit part.

    3. A particular kind of action, situation, or behavior: got tired of the macho bit.

    4. A matter being considered: What's this bit about inflation?

  4. An entertainment routine given regularly by a performer; an act.

  5. Informal

    1. A particular kind of action, situation, or behavior: got tired of the macho bit.

    2. A matter being considered: What's this bit about inflation?

  6. Informal An amount equal to one eighth of a dollar: two bits.

  7. Chiefly British A small coin: a threepenny bit.


[Middle English bite, morsel, from Old English bita; see bheid- in Indo-European roots.]
bit 2   (bĭt)   
n.  

  1. The sharp part of a tool, such as the cutting edge of a knife or ax.

  2. A pointed and threaded tool for drilling and boring that is secured in a brace, bitstock, or drill press.

  3. The part of a key that enters the lock and engages the bolt and tumblers.

  4. The tip of the mouthpiece on a pipe or a cigarette or cigar holder.

  5. The metal mouthpiece of a bridle, serving to control, curb, and direct an animal.

  6. Something that controls, guides, or curbs.

tr.v.   bit·ted, bit·ting, bits

  1. To place a bit in the mouth of (a horse, for example).

  2. To check or control with or as if with a bit.

  3. To make or grind a bit on (a key).


[Middle English bite, from Old English, act of biting; see bheid- in Indo-European roots.]
bit 3   (bĭt)   
n.   Computer Science
A fundamental unit of information having just two possible values, as either of the binary digits 0 or 1.

[Blend of b(inary) and (dig)it.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

bit

The smallest unit of information. One bit corresponds to a “yes” or “no.” Some examples of a bit of information: whether a light is on or off, whether a switch (like a transistor) is on or off, whether a grain of magnetized iron points up or down.

Note: The information in a digital computer is stored in the form of bits.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
bit

  1. n.
    a jail sentence. (Underworld.) : Mooshoo did a two-year bit in Sing Sing.
  2. n.
    a small theatrical part. (From bit part.) : It was just a bit, but I needed the money.
  3. n.
    any part of an act; any isolated activity or presentation. : I didn't like that bit concerning penalties.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

bit  (1)
related O.E. words bite "act of biting," and bita "piece bitten off," are probably the source of the modern words meaning "boring-piece of a drill" (1594), "mouthpiece of a horse's bridle" (c.1340), and "a piece bitten off, morsel" (c.1000). All from P.Gmc. *biton, from PIE base *bheid- "to split" (see fissure). Meaning "small piece, fragment" is from 1606. Theatrical bit part is from 1926. Money sense in two bits, six bits, etc. is originally from Southern U.S. and West Indies, in ref. to silver wedges cut or stamped from Sp. dollars (later Mexican reals); transferred to "eighth of a dollar."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Abbreviations & Acronyms
BITS
building integrated timing supply
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see bits on Thesaurus | Reference
Bits
Brand-Name Drill Bit Sets, Wide Variety of Types & Sizes. Shop Now
NorthernTool.com/DrillBits
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way